Flow valves and chokes, and means for installing same



Nov. 21, 1967 M. M. KINLEY 3,353,607

FLOW VALVES AND CHOKES, AND MEANS FOR INSTALLING SAME] Filed June 7, 1965 2 sheets-beet 1 INVENTOR Nov. 21, 1967 M. M. KINLEY 3,353,607

FLOW VALVES AND CHOKES, AND MEANS FOR INSTALLING SAME Filed June 7, 1965 2 s eets-Shee 2 l5 v ZZ INVENTOR Wiywn/%/%%/qy ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,353,607 FLOW VALVES AND CHOKES, AND MEANS FOR INSTALLING SAME Myron M. Kinley, 103 Maple Lane, Chickasha, Okla. 73018 Filed June 7, 1965, Ser. No. 461,953 12 Claims. (Cl. 166-1175) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for controlling flow of fluid through an opening in the side wall of a string of tubing or other pipe in a well, wherein the means for so controlling the fluid flow is adapted to be lowered on, and inserted adjacent said opening by manipulation of, a wireline tool.

This invention relates to flow valves for use in oil well tubing and to means for installing the same after the tubing is in place in a well.

As shown and described in the US. patent to Howard, et al., No. 2,664,162 granted Dec. 29, 1953, it is common practice to connect a special section or su in a string of tubing, the section being so constructed as to permit a valve or choke to be lowered down through the tubing and installed therein after the tubing is in the well.

The present invention relates to the same art as the above-cited Howard patent. The primary object is to provide a more simplified construction, both in the valve itself and in the tools for installing the same, while insuring a positive seal when the valve is closed. Certain features of the invention are applicable to the installation of side wall chokes in tubing, as well as positively closed valves, as will be apparent from the following description.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the preferred form of the invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a cased oil well, in cross-section, with a special section of tubing constructed in accordance with the present invention located therein;

FIGURES 2 to inclusive are vertical cross-sectional views of the tubing section of FIGURE 1, with the tools for installing the valve shown therein to illustrate the sequence of operation of the tools; FIGURE 2 showing the position of the initial step in the operation; FIGURE 3 showing the position after the second step; FIGURE 4 showing the valve being driven into place; and FIGURE 5 showing the valve in place and the tools ready for removal from the well. 7 4

FIGURE 6 is a somewhat enlarged, vertical crosssectional view of the special section of the tubing similar, but slightly different than that shown in FIGURES 2 to 5;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the device of FIGURE 6, the view being taken on the line VII-VII of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the device of FIGURE 6, the view being taken on the line VIIL-VIII of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 is a side view of the sleeve segment which constitutes the valve element of the device of FIGURES 6 and 7; and

FIGURE 10 is a front view of the sleeve segment of FIGURE 9.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and first to the arrangement of FIGURE 1, it will be seen that an oil well is there shown as having a casing 11, in which tubing 12 may be run.

The tubing includes a special section 13 which has a larger diameter than the rest of the tubing, so that it may Patented Nov. 21, 1967 include special features, but still have the same clearance inside as the rest of the tubing so that any regular tools may be passed down through it.

The section 13 has a side wall opening 14. By covering or uncovering this opening 14, the flow of fluid into the tubing from the side wall thereof can be controlled.

The valve element 15 which covers or uncovers the opening 14 is a segment of a sleeve, and the assembled arrangement may be regarded as a sleeve valve. The segment 15 has its outer surface curved to conform to the cylindrical inner surface of the section 13. Its outer edges 16 may be tapered, as shown in FIGURE 9, so it can be wedged tightly in place in section 13, or the outer edges 16 may be parallel, as shown in FIGURES 2 to 5. The segment 15 should be so constructed as to snugly fit into the section 13 so as to be held by friction, or be otherwise held in place when seated Also, the segment 15 may have an elongated groove in its curved surface, in which an O-ring 17 (see FIG. 10) may be mounted to insure making a perfect seal with the section 13.

The upper end of the segment 15 has holes 18 through which shear pins 20 may pass, as shown in FIG. 2, to secure it to the tools when lowering it into the well.

The segment 15 may have a threaded hole therein in which a plug 19 may be secured, as illustrated in FIG- URES 9 and 10. If desired the plug may have an orifice or choke hole through it, and the orifice may be of any desired size. By having plugs with different size orifices therein, the amount of fluid flowing into the tubing through the opening 14 may be regulated. Of course, an orifice may be drilled in the segment 15 instead of using the plug 19.

The segment 15 may also have a fishing neck 21 so that a suitable grappling tool may be used to remove it from its position covering the opening 14, but the grappling tool forms no part of the present invention, and is neither shown nor described herein.

Because the valve element 15 is a segment of a sleeve, and because there is only one opening 14 in the section 13, it is essential that the segment 15 be exactly oriented with respect to the opening 14 when it is in place to seal the opening.

Therefore, there must be an arrangement in the section 13 for guiding the segment 15 and for sealing it against the wall of the section 13 when it is in place.

To this end, the section 13 has liner 22 therein which may be welded or otherwise rigidly secured in the section 13.

As best shown inFlGURES 6, 7 and 8, the liner 22 has a bore which is eccentric with respect to its outer cylindrical surface. The purpose of this design is to give added strength and dimension to the wall of the liner along the side which functions to guide the segment 15.

The top of the liner 22 is tapered, so shown at 23, and the lower part of the taper is provided with a keyway or slot 24 extending a short distance downwardly along the thick portion of the wall.

Beneath the keyway 24 there is a long slot 25 in the thick wall of the liner, and the lower portion of this slot is provided with holding surfaces 26 which coact with the edges 16 of the segment 15 to engage segment 15 as it is driven downwardly in the liner.

The purpose of the tools shown in FIGURES 2 to 5 inclusive is to locate and drive the segment 15 into its proper position in the liner 22 and hence in the section 13 to cover and seal the opening 14.

The tools may be run into the tubing on a wire line, and may include a jar 27, such as an ordinary link jar or any other known type, and which, per se, forms no part of the present invention. The jar should be capable of delivering a downward blow, however.

Beneath the jar 27, there is a mandrel 28 upon which devices are mounted to slide up and down. The mandrel 28 may be of square cross-section, as shown, or it may be circular with the parts which slide up and down thereon splined to it.

At the top of the mandrel 28, there is a collar 29 fixed to it, and there is a sliding collar 30 thereon. Between these collars there is a coiled compression spring 31, whlilch is compressed before the tools are run into the we The spring 31 is held compressed by a spring latch 32 on the mandrel 28 beneath the lower collar 30. The spring latch 31 may be like that normally used on an umbrella.

Slidably mounted on the mandrel 28 a suitable distance below the spring latch 32 is a control sleeve 33. This sleeve 33 is secured against vertical movement on the mandrel when the tools are being run into the well by two shear pins 34 and 35. Shear pin 34 is small and weak. Shear pin 35 is larger and stronger but passes into a short slot 36 in the mandrel and hence does not hold the sleeve 33 against movement on the mandrel until after pin 34 shears.

Fixed to the mandrel 28 at its bottom end is a carrier 37 for the segment The carrier has a lever 38 pivoted tslgar' its upper end and is urged outwardly by a leaf spring The lever 38 has the segment 15 secured to it by the shear pins 20, and when being run into the well is in the retracted position shown in FIGURE 2, being so held by the sleeve 33 and pin 34, the bottom of the sleeve 33 being tapered and engaging the tapered top extension of the lever 38.

When the pin 34 shears, the mandrel 28 and carrier 37 then move downwardly the length of slot 36 and the parts take the position shown in FIGURE 3, the lever 38 no longer being held retracted, so that the leaf spring 38 swings it and the segment 15 outwardly into the slot in the liner 22.

The sleeve 33 is provided with means for controlling the shearing of the pins 34 and when desired. At its upper end there is provided a strong detent 40, which may be urged outwardly by a spring not shown. The outer surface of this detent 40 may be curved, as shown, to avoid getting it hung up in a collar of the tubing while the tools are being lowered into or removed from the well.

The detent 40 is held retracted in a slot in the sleeve 33 while the tools are being lowered, by a catch 41 pivoted on the sleeve 33 near the lower end thereof.

The catch 41 has a slot (not shown) at its pivot point so that it can drop slightly from the position shown in FIGURE 2, but it is held up temporarily by a very small shear pin 42. There may be a small tension spring (not shown) for drawing the catch 41 downwardly after the pin 42 shears, so as to be sure the catch 41 no longer interferes with outward movement of the detent 40'.

With their parts in the position shown in FIGURE 2, the tools are operated by lowering them down through the tubing on a wire line. When they reach the depth shown in FIGURE 2, with the catch 41 in the upper part of the slot 25 in the liner 22, an upward pull on the wire line will shear the pin 42 and the catch 41 will drop down.

The tools are then raised to some distance above that shown in FIGURE 3 and again lowered.

The detent 40 now being released and extanded outwardly, it will engage the tapered upper surface 23 of the liner 22 and be oriented or moved by cam section into the keyway 24.

It should be mentioned that the shear pin 42 may be broken by pulling the tools upwardly into any collar of the tubing instead of breaking it by pulling the catch 41 against the top of the slot 25, as just described, and as illustrated in the drawing.

Once the tools are lowered into the tubing, they can- I not be raised without shearing the pin 42.

In some cases the catch 41 may not be necessary, but some provision for holding the detent 40 retracted while lowering the tools into the tubing is preferred.

Because the sleeve 33 cannot rotate on the mandrel, and because the carrier 37 is fixed to the mandrel, the lever 38 will now be in the correct position to place the segment 15 in the slot 25 of the liner when the sleeve 33 separates from the carrier a slight distance.

With the parts in the position just described, and as shown in FIGURE 3, the jar 27 is caused to deliver a downward blow on the mandrel 28, by manipulation of the wire line. Because the detent 40 is holding the sleeve 33 against downward movement, the pin 34 will shear, and then subsequently with additional jar blows, if necessary, the pin 35 will shear.

When the pins 34 and 35 have both sheared, the parts will take the position shown in FIGURE 4.

It will be observed that in FIGURE 4, the segment 15 is well down in the slot 25, so that it is no longer necessary to hold it oriented. The sleeve 33 and detent 40 have served their function of orienting the lever 38 carrying the segment 15. Therefore, the detent 40 may now be retracted from its position in the keyway 24.

Upon the further downward movement of the mandrel 28 through the sleeve 33 from the position shown in FIG- URE 4, the sleeve 33 will press the latch 32 inwardly and release the collar 30, whereupon the collar 30 will be urged downwardly by the spring 31. Upon the collar 30 striking the top of detent 40, retraction of the detent into its recess in the sleeve 33 will be accomplished.

Further jar blows will then drive the segment 15 in to position covering the opening 14, and the pins 20 will shear, so that the parts take the position shown in FIG- URE 5.

With the parts in the position shown in FIGURE 5, the tools can be lowered on down past below the section 13. Hence the operator will know that the segment 15 has been properly placed.

It is within the purview of the invention to provide a number of sections 13 in the tubing 12, located at different producing zones, for example, so as to control flow of fluid into the tubing at different levels. Segments 15 can be set in the various sections 13. Some sections 13 may be provided with chokes of selected sizes and others may be sealed off entirely, the operation being quite flexible in this regard.

Of course, the provision of the catch 41 is necessary, where multiple section operation is desired, to avoid setting the segments in sections already closed by a previous setting.

In FIGURES 6, 9 and 10, the edges 16 of the segment 15 and the holding surfaces 26 in the slot 25 of the liner 22 are shown as tapered, or converging downwardly, instead of being parallel as shown in FIGURES 2 to 5. These tapered surfaces of FIGURES 6, 9 and 10 serve as wedging means to provide additional friction, and thus assist in holding the segment 15 in place when it is seated.

While only a few embodiments of the invention have been shown and described. it is obvious that various changes may be made in the arrangement and construction of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for controlling the flow of fluid through the side wall of a string of tubing in a well comprising a section of tubing adapted to be made up with the string and having an opening in its side wall, a segment of a cylinder adapted to cover the opening, a longitudinally extending slot with an open upper end formed on the inside of said section for receiving said segment as it is lowered, means cooperating with said section and said segment for sealing said segment with the wall of said section around the opening in said section when said segment is in said slot, and means for inserting said segment into said slot after said tubing is in place in the well.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which an O-ring is mounted on the outer surface of said segment so that, when the segment is in place, the O-ring will provide a seal around the opening in said section.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the segment is provided with an orifice capable of serving as a choke governing the flow of fluid through the opening in said section.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which said section has an internal diameter as large as that of the string of tubing.

5. In a system for controlling the flow of fluid through the side wall of a string of tubing in a well having a section of tubing made up with the string and having an opening in its side wall, the combination with said section of a segment of a cylinder adapted to cover the opening, holding means cooperating with said section and said segment for holding said segment in sealed engagement with the wall of said section around the opening in said section, and positioning tools capable of being operated on a wire line for lowering said segment into the Well after the tubing is in place therein and for causing the segment to engage said holding means.

6. The combination of claim 5 in which said positioning tools include a lever upon which said segment is mounted and means for holding said lever and segment retracted while the same are being lowered into the tubing.

7. The combination of claim 5 in which the positioning tools includes orienting guide means to insure that said segment will engage said holding means.

8. The combination of claim 5 in which said positioning tools include orienting guide means to insure that said segment will engage said holding means and mechanism for rendering said orienting guide means inoperative after said segment is in place around the opening in said section, whereby said positioning tools can be lowered on down into the tubing below said section.

9. The combination of claim 5 in which a jar is associated with said positioning tools whereby said segment may be driven by jar blows into said holding means.

10. The combination of claim 7 in which said orienting guide means includes a detent which is spring pressed outwardly and a catch for holding said detent retracted until it is desired to release the same in the tubing.

11. The combination of claim 10 in which said catch is capable of being operated by raising said tools in the tubing to release said detent.

12. The combination of claim 5 in which said holding means consists of wedge surfaces of the segment and section which cooperate with each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,207,033 7/ 1940 Toney 103233 3,071,193 1/ 1963 Raulins 166-22-6 3,075,586 1/ 1963 Schwab et al 166-226 FOREIGN PATENTS 31,601 4/1923 Denmark.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

JAMES A. LEPPINK, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH THE SIDE WALL OF A STRING OF TUBING IN A WELL COMPRISING A SECTION OF TUBING ADAPTED TO BE MADE UP WITH THE STRING AND HAVING AN OPENING IN ITS SIDE WALL, A SEGMENT OF A CYLINDER ADAPTED TO COVER THE OPENING, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOT WITH AN OPEN UPPER END FORMED ON THE INSIDE OF SAID SECTION FOR RECEIVING SAID SEGMENT AS IT IS LOWERED, MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SECTION AND SAID SEGMENT FOR SEALING SAID SEGMENT WITH THE WALL OF SAID SECTION AROUND THE OPENING IN SAID SECTION WHEN SAID SEGMENT IS IN SAID SLOT, AND MEANS FOR INSERTING SAID SEGMENT INTO SAID SLOT AFTER SAID TUBING IS IN PLACE IN THE WELL. 